Railway line to Churchil in jeopardy after catastrophic floods

The
only train to Churchill has been suspended until winter — maybe
even next spring — and its future is in jeopardy after severe
flooding damaged the tracks on the way to the northern Manitoba
community.

The
"unprecedented and catastrophic" damage will take months to
repair, said Peter Touesnard, chief commercial officer at OmniTrax,
the Denver-based owner of the rail line that brings supplies into
Churchill.

"Until
we are able to get people physically on the ground and do a proper
inspection, it's difficult for us to truly know [how long repairs
will take]," said Touesnard.

Churchill
Mayor Mike Spence said it is a "disastrous" situation. The
community of about 900 relies on tourism and the summer season —
centred on beluga whales in the Churchill River — was just set to
begin.

"We
want to make sure that people know there is a tourist season,"
Spence said, adding that Calm Air has scheduled additional flights
and reduced some of the transportation costs for goods to the
community.

Earlier
this week, Belinda Fitzpatrick, who owns the Tundra Inn and Hostel,
said most of her clients come in by rail and may not be able to
afford air travel.

"Now
I've got to make decisions on staff that we're supposed to be flying
up and whether I have jobs for them or not, as well as local staff
here that I may not have work for," Fitzpatrick said.

Battling
Mother Nature, again: Manitoba town of Churchill tackles high water
levels, flooding

"There
will be, no doubt, some kind of price increase and probably a
lessening of the hours in the restaurant."

Longer-term
solution needed

In
a statement earlier on Friday, Spence and town council said they
didn't learn of the closure until it was reported by the media
reported.

Churchill
was already working with provincial and federal governments, along
with Omnitrax, to make alternative arrangements during the temporary
outage.

"Today's
announcement makes it clear that a longer-term solution is required,"
the statement said.

Spence
said the main focus now is to work with governments to get some
financial relief, particularly to get essential supplies — like
fuel and food — to the community. He said both levels of government
should help pay for the difference in freight.

They
are also looking at how they can expedite the repairs of the rail
line.

"It's
not a good situation here. We have daily living, there is a cost to
that," Spence said.

'People
can't get out. The only way out for a lot of folks is taking the
train … it's a low point right now,'

-
Mike Spence, Churchill mayor

"People
can't get out. The only way out for a lot of folks is taking the
train out to Thompson and other places. So, naturally it's a low
point right now, very low, but we have a bit of work to do."

The
Manitoba Chambers of Commerce said air transportation costs can be
five times higher than rail shipment costs, and the provincial
government should look at offsetting some of the expense of food and
other items.

"My
hope is that they would be willing to see that the situation is ...
dire now, and that they'll be prepared to step up and help,"
Chamber president Chuck Davidson said.

Washed
out in 19 places

The
damaging floods and historic record water flows came after two
powerful March blizzards walloped the town, located about 1,000
kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

The
track bed was washed away in 19 locations, a preliminary assessment
showed. Five bridges are visibly damaged and 30 more bridges and 600
culverts — structures that allow water to pass under the track —
will need to be checked for structural integrity, Omnitrax said.

"While
the Hudson Bay Railway requires significant seasonal maintenance, the
extent of the damage created by flooding this year is by far the
worst we have ever seen," Touesnard said.

The
flooding, which halted rail service on May 23, only receded to normal
levels on Thursday.

Omnitrax
said it is in contact with Transport Canada and the province, as well
as the Missinippi Rail Consortium, which recently signed a memorandum
of understanding about the potential acquisition of the rail line and
the Port of Churchill.

Fuel
is an especially critical commodity, and the port could be used, at
least during the ice-free season. "There's the capability of
using the port to potentially deliver fuel into the port to serve the
community," Touesnard said.